Erdogan unveils election promises, pledges 650,000 new homes after earthquake
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled some of his campaign promises for the crucial May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections at an AKP party event in Ankara on Tuesday.
Among the most important points, Erdogan pledged to build 650,000 new homes – 319,000 to be completed this year alone – in the wake of a devastating earthquake in February which killed more than 50,000 people.
He also addressed Turkey’s economic woes. The country has experienced an official inflation rate of 50,5%; economists say the true rate may be in the triple digits. According to Al-Monitor, Erdogan promised to appoint a “strong economy team” if elected, and to bring down inflation by creating 6 million new jobs over five years.
The president also pledged to raise per capita income by over $5,000 to $16,000 and exports by nearly $150 billion to $400 billion. One economist quoted by Al-Monitor described these figures as “Tayyp in Wonderland.”
Erdogan made further promises to invest in high-speed rail, continue exploring gas deposits in the Black Sea, open a controversial Russian-financed nuclear plant, as well as to go ahead on a phantasmagorical megaproject that would see Istanbul transformed into an island.
The AKP man also appealed to his conservative base by promising to protect “family structure” from “deviant movements” through “material and moral support.”
Currently, Erdogan is narrowly trailing behind his main opponent in national polls, though neither would received enough votes to clinch victory in the first round. The pro-Kurdish HDP party previously announced that it would not field a candidate of their own for the presidential election, a move likely to benefit the opposition.